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The road in the Big East has been unkind to South Florida.
Historically, the Bulls have struggled in cold weather for games in the northeast. But they've also inexplicably faltered in nationally televised games scheduled on Thursday nights instead of Saturdays. An even harsher reality, though, is they've had difficulty winning consistently at home in conference.
That leaves a narrow window of where they can win: At home against nonconference opponents.
Skip Holtz draws a simple conclusion.. Rather than rationalize or make excuses, the second-year coach says the talented but inconsistent Bulls (4-2) just need to play better if they hope to change the ugly trend that's threatening to undermine yet another quest for USF's first conference football title.
''I've said it every week. We're a work in progress,'' Holtz said. ''We're not there yet. We've got to continue to improve.''
Holtz has heard all the conjecture about why a program that's made a name for itself with signature wins in hostile locales such as Notre Dame, Florida State and Miami hasn't enjoyed the same kind of success on the road in its own league.
Three times since 2007, USF has started 5-0 or better and climbed as high as No. 2 in the national rankings. Each of those promising starts was followed by puzzling Big East collapses that knocked the Bulls out of contention for the league championship. USF's overall league record in each of the last three years has been 2-5, 3-4 and 3-4.
That's not going to get it done.
This season, another promising September is giving way to October blues that won't get better if Holtz is unable to find the answers to what ailed his team in losses at Pittsburgh and Connecticut the past two games.
The Bulls sputtered offensively and couldn't stopped the run defensively in a 44-17 loss to Pitt that dropped USF out of the Top 25 following a 4-0 start that included an attention-grabbing road win at Notre Dame and victories at home over three overmatched opponents - Ball State, Florida A&M and UTEP - who barely tested them.
They hurt themselves with four turnovers and nine penalties in falling to UConn for the third straight season.
''Looking back, it was a very frustrating game in a lot of respects. ... We had so many opportunities, but couldn't close the door. I was convinced we were going to go down and score and win that game, 17-16,'' Holtz said, adding that the Bulls are not discouraged at being off to an 0-2 start in the Big East for the second year in a row.
''The attitude of the team is very upbeat, very positive. I think the Pitt game was probably one of trying to scratch your head, look back and say: `What happened?' The UConn game is one probably looking back with anger. Like, we've got to get this straight,'' Holtz said. ''We've got too many guys playing too hard and playing too well. We've got an obligation as a coaching staff to get it straight and put a team on the field and a product on the field that can win. This is a product business. It's not how many guys played well. It's whether you won or lost. ... That's what we have to get done.''
USF hosts first-place Cincinnati on Saturday, then plays its next two games at Rutgers and Syracuse, the only place where the Bulls have a winning record (3-0) since joining the Big East in 2005. They've dropped their last two games at Rutgers and are 1-3 at Pitt, 0-4 at UConn, 1-2 at Cincinnati, 1-2 at Louisville and 1-2 at West Virginia.
With Pitt and Syracuse set to leave the league for the Atlantic Coast Conference, other potential cold weather destination could wind up on future USF schedules if schools such as Boise State, Navy or Air Force eventually join the Big East as part of the league's plan to expand membership to 12 teams in football.
But that's down the road. Holtz is searching for answers now.
In three road games against Notre Dame, Pitt and UConn, the Bulls have scored four offensive touchdowns, average 16.7 points and 339 yards total offense per game. In defeating Ball State, Florida A&M and UTEP at home, USF averaged 53.3 points and 613 yards total offense.
Clearly, the level of competition has been a factor.
''In the Connecticut game, it was like we kept waiting for that spark,'' Holt z said. ''We were moving the ball. We just couldn't punch it in. Every completion, it was like we were ready to go. It's the same thing with this season. We played with as many intangibles as we had all season. We just made costly mistakes and it hurt us.''
The loss to Pitt dropped USF's record to 0-7 in games played on Thursdays since joining the Big East. Holtz said a short week of preparation was not to blame, just as having an open date before travelling to UConn was not an excuse for not being sharp offensively. A common denominator in both losses were problems the Bulls caused for themselves.
That what needs to be eliminated going forward.
''You can use a short week, you can use a long week, you can use an open date however you want. ... Don't think the short week or the long week is the cause of our woes,'' Holtz said. ''When you look at four turnovers, and not scoring inside the 35-yard line, you're not going to win. That's the reality.''
